


(Not So) Brotherly Feelings

by writing_as_tracey



Category: Carmen Sandiego (Cartoon 2019), Netflix's Carmen Sandiego
Genre: Cross-Posted on Tumblr, Drabble, F/M, Gen, Introspection, One Shot, One-Sided Attraction, Or Is It?, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-26
Updated: 2019-01-26
Packaged: 2019-10-16 20:49:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 593
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17552972
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writing_as_tracey/pseuds/writing_as_tracey
Summary: He never thought he was a sucker for redheads, but the woman in front of him makes him want to drop everything -- including his job -- and stay by her side. There’s something between them -- electric, really -- and it makes his fingertips tingle every time her grey eyes glance at him.





	(Not So) Brotherly Feelings

**Author's Note:**

> Freaking obsessing over CS right now. I am onboard the Crackle/Carmen ship as much as I am Carmen/Chase, but this idea wouldn’t leave my head. As far as I’m concerned, my headcanon is that Carmen is 20, and began her training with V.I.L.E. when she was 15/16; junior electricians in Australia can be anywhere from 15-19 if my research is correct, so I’m playing with the idea that when Carmen was 15 during training, Gray/Graham was 19. 
> 
> So far the CS writers are subscribing to Rowling math, but there were several years between Carmen leaving the island to when the show begins.

 

(Not So) Brotherly Feelings

He never thought he was a sucker for redheads, but the woman in front of him makes him want to drop everything -- including his job -- and stay by her side. There’s something between them -- electric, really -- and it makes his fingertips tingle every time her grey eyes glance at him.

It’s the trenchcoat, he decides, his eyes sweeping down quickly before she notices (although the smirk on her red-painted lips tells him he wasn’t as subtle as he thought). The red coat hugs her figure and everything about her screams  _ temptation _ and  _ mystery  _ but outside of his desire to be near her -- near this Carmen -- there’s something else.

Something like longing.

And not a sexual kind either, although he wouldn’t mind a tumble between the sheets with  _ her _ . No, this longing is more affectionate, more of a lingering kind that speaks of a deeper connection.

Did he know her from _ Before _ ? Before his memory lapse? His coma?

Graham wishes this memory wasn’t as patchy as it was; if Carmen was in his life  _ Before _ , he wouldn’t have let her go -- he knows that. He told her that when he caught her back stage earlier: “Fashion statement aside, you’d be hard to forget. If there is a next time, I promise not to make that mistake again.”

Except -- maybe he did? Maybe he did know her and forget her?

A flash of disappointment and a patchy memory tries to bleed through:  _ I thought I knew you, like the big brother I never had, Gray _ .

He grimaces and hides it by turning his head. 

_ Big brother? _ What he’s feeling isn’t very brotherly, not towards this cheeky and exotic woman. Still -- he’s done what he could, given her the address of his favourite cafe and told her when he was going to be there for Friday evening -- and if he’s lucky, she’ll show up and maybe she could tell him about life  _ Before _ . 

And if not? Well, maybe she’ll be in his life  _ After _ and they can get to know each other better, too -- in ways that are more than platonic. He couldn’t be the only one imaging the spark between them.

But he’s watching her walk away, and a part of him wants to run after her, hold her close, and, strangely, call her a cutesy pet name like “Lamb.” Weird.

Instead, he stands still outside the Opera house, watching her hips sway beneath her coat as she disappears into the gloom, and lets his heart squeeze a bit too tight in his chest at the idea of letting her leave.

_ She’ll show up, _ he tells himself, hands clenched at his side.

* * *

She does, across the street from the cafe, standing and staring at him with an unreadable expression on her face. She’s not in the trenchcoat anymore, but an adorable zip-up and Converse that seem more approachable and less mysterious. Graham appreciates this look more than he thought, and so do other parts of him.

He rises from the table he’s seated at, and she catches his eyes. His heart squeezes again, and that electricity builds at the base of his spine. He  _ knew _ there was something there -- something between them--!

A small, but sad smile stretches across her lips. It’s an apology, he knows that immediately and the smile on his face slips right off as the bus passes in front of her through the green light.

And then she’s gone, and he’s alone, staring up and down at the street -- but there’s no red to be seen.

* * *

FIN  
  
  



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